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Night came two hours early Monday.

At 7 p.m., the street lights in downtown Lincoln flipped on as
the sky turned black. A round of heavy thunderstorms -- including
hail and wind that had trees bending close to the ground -- blew in
minutes later.

Streets emptied, trees fell, lightning struck homes, power was
lost and roads were blocked as the storm hit. But Lincoln was
spared the worst of a barrage of storms that produced tornadoes and
damaged homes in parts of central and eastern Nebraska.

Counties to the south and west of Lincoln fought the elements
earlier Monday. Tornadoes were reported in Polk and York counties,
among others, and play stopped in the College World Series. No
injuries were reported.

A home in the 2900 block of North Sixth Street caught fire,
possibly after a lightning strike, Lincoln Fire and Rescue acting
Battalion Chief Guy Pinkman said. No one was hurt, but firefighters
were forced to cut a hole in the roof to contain the blaze.

More than 1,030 customers were without power between 44th and
58th streets and A and Q streets for about 45 minutes, a Lincoln
Electric Service spokesman said.

Dave Fobert, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service
in Omaha, said it was too early to predict how the heavy rain would
affect flooding in the Missouri River basin.

"I don't have any idea on this point now," he said, adding
they'll just have to wait to see how much rain falls, and where it
falls.

Polk County

Two farmsteads were destroyed in Polk County when a line of
tornadoes struck the county, emergency manager Bob Carey said.

Carey said the home and outbuildings of the two farms, one near
the town of Polk and another west of Osceola, were lost.

Polk County received the brunt of a line of tornadoes that
developed at about 5:20 p.m. in Hamilton County and lasted more
than an hour.

The Polk County Sheriff's office was operating on generators at
about 8 p.m., and a dispatcher said emergency workers were
assessing the damage.

A National Weather Service report said a tornado destroyed a
shed nine miles south of Silver Creek.

York County

Several freight cars were reported knocked off railroad tracks
Monday evening near Bradshaw. The cars were parked on the tracks on
the outskirts of town and there were no injuries. It was not
immediately known what railroad owned the cars, or if they were
hauling freight.

A multiple-vortex tornado was reported on the ground in York
County at about 5:54 p.m. by a trained spotter. A York County
Sheriff's dispatcher confirmed that the county received damage, but
declined to provide more information.

Buffalo County

Meteorologist Briona Chester said a house was damaged near
Miller while high-voltage power lines were down in Amherst. Both
communities are in Buffalo County.

Chester said there were several reports of irrigation systems,
or pivots, being damaged in farm fields.

Sherman County

A storm chaser said a tornado touched down in Sherman County
near Rockville.

Lincoln County

In Lincoln County, the Sutherland Volunteer Fire Department
reported 5 to 6 inches of rain and flash flooding. Water was
reported running over U.S. 30 between Sutherland and Paxton and
some sandbagging was under way, closing the road briefly.

Douglas County

Strong storms halted play at the College World Series, as 70 mph
winds were reported near Eppley Airfield.

Phelps County

Homes near Elm Creek sustained damage and pivots were turned
over, according to news reports.

Dodge County:

Winds of more than 70 mph turned over trees and power lines and
cut off power.

Cedar County

Trees fell in the town of Magnet and a farm building was moved
off its foundation.

Antelope County

A building was torn apart by a thunderstorm near Clearwater when
winds gusted at 70 mph and more than 2 inches of rain fell in a
half hour.

Gage County

Trees and power lines were reported down in Adams. A sheriff's
dispatcher was not aware of any serious damage.

Saunders County

Two-foot diameter trees were turned over in Ashland with winds
estimated at 70 mph.

Madison County

Small hail covered the ground as the storm ripped many trees
from the ground in Norfolk.